Previously, I shared my favorite Skyrim clothing mods for mages and Akaviri gear. Below are nice mods fit for rangers, rogues, spellswords, and some suited for those playing dark characters. Armor that improves by feeding on blood sounds cool, doesn’t it?

on “lore-friendly” and my preference

When “realistic” armor is mentioned in regard to Skyrim, I assume this refers to protection in combat and from the elements within context of The Elder Scrolls. Removing dragons and magic would leave Skryim as a civil war game with bandit and item-collecting quests. TES is a fantasy series which includes unrealistic fantasy gear such as Golden Saint, Dark Seducer, and some unwieldy oversized weapons. Daedric armors are imbued with dark powers, and are highly decorative to cause fear. Our history is full of armor decorations to confuse the enemy or inspire confidence among the citizens. Practical is nice, but looking cool has its place.

No matter the armor, direct hits hurt. Armor may be simple padded hides or layered with chain and plates. Real chainmale would hurt flesh without padding, but decorative chain can make an ordinary garment look nice. Coverage is more about flak and incidental contact. The warrior’s skill at wearing a particular armor matters, and more important is the skillset at avoiding combat. Speech, stealth, distraction, and fleeing help one stay alive better than any particular outfit. And there are enchantments to consider in this fantasy world. Coverage may be more important for heavy armors, and light armors need to allow for more movement or stealth.

How decorative, revealing, or practical outfit choice is comes down to my character’s taste. My retired mage, Reisha, always prefered normal clothing, the mourner’s dress and “Blades Hakama” her favorites. She blended in better than wearing mage robes or Dark Brotherhood outfits around town. Another character likes intimidating (decorative) armors.

I give preference to original work. Styles should be similar to or inspired by outfits found throughout Tamriel, which is very diverse in style and cultural background. Historical recreation or realistic gear is great, but I prefer a touch of fantasy suitable for Skyrim.

The Akavir (elderscolls.wikia) are a lost people of Tamriel. How much of their culture, skills, and weapons might remain is up to the player. There’s a number of Akaviri-related mods to choose from. Previous TES chapters included limited, and generally more powerful, swords such as katanas and dai-katanas. Considering The Blades have discovered ancient artifacts, and Sky Haven Temple, former crafting techniques have been uncovered allowing Esbern and Delphine to maintain gear for new recruits. Why not add more Akaviri style in Skyrim?

The screenshot from Skyrim above shows Reisha (holding her sword improperly) with gear from various mods: “Blades Hakama”, shawl and satchel from “Arise - Chapter 1 - The Black Sacrament”, “Circlet Replacers for Women”, gloves from “Sotteta Necromancer Outfit”, and “Odems Onime Katana”. I share some clothing mod picks in this post, and in the next few posts I’ll cover Akaviri items, light armor, and heavy armor.

If you’ve never installed mods for TES V: Skyrim before, see my first post in this series. I suggest using a mod organizer like NMM since several armor mods listed here support an installer to choose options. If you change your mind about a texture replacer, a mod organizer makes it easier to remove or switch texture files. Some outfits require specific body replacers (CBBE, UNP, etc). See my post on body mods.

Craft books

Several armor mod creators have taken to including a craft book that must be in your character’s inventory in order to craft the armor or components. This helps reduce clutter within the craft menus by simply storing some of the books away at home when not needed.

Custom outfits and Frostfall

Remember that “Frostfall” treats third-party armor and clothing mods as standard gear. If your new armor from a mod has less coverage, to maintain immersion, consider adjusting the exposure protection classification to reduce warmth and coverage. A high-level vampire or mage can wear whatever pleases her. I’m not going to argue facing a fireball, conjured Dremora Lord, or mind-altering illusions.

In “Frostfall” without SkyUI use Inspect Equipment feature to adjust warmth and coverage. With SkyUI, put on the items and see the MCM.

I was curious about looking backward on a mountain bike ride, so I mounted the GoPro camera onto the seatpost aimed over the rear wheel. It’s neat seeing the rear suspension work and watching the view speed away. My shadow splashes over trail and trees as I descend Hide and Seek Trail at Sandy Ridge on a warm morning in October.

MTBRearView Sandy Ridge from David Shrock on Vimeo.

National parks entrance fees are waved for Veteran’s Day (November 11th), so my sister decided to visit Mount Rainier National Park. Neither of us had visited Mount Rainier since childhood, and never during snow season, so I mounted the snow wheels on the car and we drove up to Paradise. Only one road open, and no going beyond Paradise. The weather turned out better than forecasted, and the mountain shook off the clouds long enough for a nice view.

There she is dressed in fresh snow and a cloudy veil.